1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the transmission of data in a computer network. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for negotiating over the use of a cache memory that stores content received from a computer device.
2. Description of Related Art
The performance of a computer network can become degraded as more computers are connected to the network. It is common for a group of computers to be connected to a local area network (LAN), and for the LAN to include an access router coupling the LAN to a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet. The computers connected to the LAN request content from sites connected to the Internet through the access router. Modern Internet websites increasingly use objects that have large memory requirements and/or require large bandwidths for transmission to remote computers. As a result, many times users experience delays while navigating between pages of a website. Latency delays can adversely impact a user's experience and often result in users visiting alternative websites to purchase similar goods and services.
One proposed solution involves storing content in a cache memory coupled to the access router. The cache memory is configured to store all received content until the memory is full. When the memory is full, the oldest content is deleted. Such systems reduce latency, but fail to optimize the use of cache memories. As a result, the performance of cache memories becomes degraded or designers use larger cache memories than would otherwise be required.
As a result, there exists a need in the art for more optimal systems and methods for transmitting content from computer devices to remote computer devices while minimizing the latency delays apparent to the user. There also exists a need for methods and systems that allow users, Internet service providers and computer devices to customize the latency in the delivery of content from a first computer site to a second computer site.